PS4 unlocks the Seventh Core

Microsoft's move to open the seventh core on its X-Box has apparently been followed by Sony on its Playstation 4.

Already a subtle change was highlighted in the latest changelog for the FMOD sound engine. Labelled as a "LowLevel API" update, it reads, "PS4 - Added FMOD_THREAD_CORE6 to allow access to the newly unlocked 7th core."

The changelog draws attention to a change that Sony's already made so it has been around for a while but no one has noticed.

Developers could make use of this core, for example, to boost AI, or any other process that has a heavy computation requirement. It could also be used to simply help ease the overall load, as any system function will tap on available resources from the CPU.

The question is why did Redmond and Sony lock the seventh core away in the first place? Apparently it was to optimising the performance of the underlying OS. The fact that they can open the seventh core means that both have made the necessary improvements to the OS to allow it to cope with limited resources.